Rain delayed the Sprint Cup Series race on ESPN from Watkins Glen until Monday morning.
On this delayed coverage, ESPN does not have the Infield Pit Studio and Tech Garage. The telecast was simply the trio in the TV booth and the pit road reporters.
Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree called the race. On pit road were Dr. Jerry Punch, Shannon Spake, Vince Welch and Dave Burns.
The race coverage was straightforward and basic. The early laps featured a wet track and foggy conditions. Once the fog lifted, the real racing started after the halfway mark when the race was official.
ESPN stayed focused on the battles and stories within the field. There were few distractions as the sequence of green flag pit stops and lead changes was the order of the day.
A crash involving Kurt Busch featured ESPN using an in-car angle of the accident, including the impact on the driver. The producer waited until Kurt was out of the car and walking around to show this angle. Busch was also interviewed.
Denny Hamlin had a hard crash while coverage was in commercial break. Hamlin's accident was replayed numerous times and a follow-up interview was done.
The final lap of the race featured a large crash in the back of the field that involved at least one car rolling over. ESPN stayed with live coverage of the race for the lead until the caution flag was displayed.
Replays documented how the final lap accident occurred. This was one of the hardest road course crashes involving multiple cars in years. ESPN interviewed the winner of the race and also the drivers involved in the accident.
A skirmish in the pits involving Boris Said was also documented. ESPN remained live on-site and provided very complete post-race coverage.
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